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Hackitt Review ‘missing opportunity’ on fire safety, says RLA
Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell review of building regulations risks becoming a “missed opportunity” to examine all aspects of fire safety, the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has said.
The body, which represents private landlords in England and Wales, warned the review should be focusing on existing and low-rise stock, as well as high rise and new build.
It made the comments in a formal response to Dame Hackitt’s interim report on her findings.
Fire safety guidance across all housing types should be updated to help private landlords ensure their properties are safe and stop bad landlords exploiting loopholes in the regulations, the response said.
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The “confused and split responsibilities of the fire services and local authorities in relation to bedsit accommodation and blocks of flats” were identified as a particular concern.
The RLA called for a “clear agreement” on different organisations’ roles in enforcing fire safety standards in blocks of flats to address differing approaches between councils.
Richard Jones, policy consultant to the RLA said: “It is vital that the government’s review looks at fire and building safety issues in the round, and not just tower blocks.
“Ever-growing volumes of complex and sometimes difficult to understand guidance causes confusion among tenants, landlords, local authorities and the fire services.
“We need much clearer guidance, in line with current standards, to develop a strengthened risk assessment regime with much more transparent lines of accountability about who is responsible for enforcing what.”
